


Answers

by briala (ysha)



Series: Briala and Shemlen [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age - Various Authors, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Emotional Hurt, F/F, Post-Trespasser, post-Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 20:37:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13911759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ysha/pseuds/briala
Summary: Briala wants answers. Celene doesn't have any.





	Answers

“I want an answer goddamn it!” Briala was screaming, her voice hoarse. The ambassador was an able and adept player of the game, and hiding emotion was a big part of her life; there are times where it gets too much.

“My love, if you’ll only let me explain…”

“No, Celene,” she said, her voice now controlled. That scared her lover. “You can’t do this again. Do you regret it?”

“It was a terrible loss of life.”

“Ordered against my people, specifically.”

“Come now, my love. They are not your people, they are simply…”

“Elves? Poor, filthy knife-ears?”

“Briala, that isn’t fair.”

“Not fair?!” Briala was fuming. Her parents had worked hard to ensure that she never had to face the struggles the rest of her kind did, but that did not mean she was uncaring. The looks she had garnered in court were nothing short of disgusting. No one wanted a dirty elf within their ranks, potentially ruining family lines. Not that she had any interest, men were… somewhat low on her list of priorities, and besides, everyone knew she was just ‘Celene’s Elven Bed-Wench’.

“No, Celene,” she spat, continuing what was looking to be a long rant. “What isn’t fair is that you keep fucking me over! What isn’t _fair_ is that you _say_ you love me, but are embarrassed to be seen with me in court! Do not say that it is because I am of a lower standing, because in case you have forgotten? I’m a noble now, remember? Or did you forget I am more than your plaything? Elf or not, your Imperial Majesty, I am a person. I deserve a certain amount of respect and common fucking decency that is all too often forgotten among you royals.”

“Briala…”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself? Or are you just going to say my name over and over?”

“It’s complicated, my dear, you know this.”

“After all Inquisitor Lavellan did to get me to forgive you… You turn around and treat me like this?” Briala’s anger began to settle, sadness seeping between the cracks of her strong exterior. “You know I used to dream about a wedding, you and I hopelessly in love, wearing the finest clothes money could buy. I knew it could never happen, I knew that these would never be more than dreams, but I was a teenager, and reality meant nothing. But, even though I knew we were destined to fall, this… It- it still hurts.”

Celene remained silent, her eyes glued to her hands.

“I’m leaving.”

“Briala…”

“To you I am the Lady Ambassador,” she said, her voice wavering for the first time. “I am not Briala. Not to you. Not anymore.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you, Celene,” a tear slipped from her eye. “But it’s not enough anymore. You love me but you don’t love _me_.”

“I feel terrible for what happened to those people.”

“So much that you won’t even issue a formal apology?”

“Not everything is so simple!” The empress was not going to make the same mistake she had made years before. “You don’t know what it’s like to be torn between the woman you love and your throne and your country.”

“No, I don’t.” Briala turned to face her former… paramour once more. “But I do know what it’s like being constantly pulled between my people who I love so much and the woman who I have adored my entire life who seems to actively despise the former. I may not know the ins and outs of royal responsibility, but I know what its like to be constantly fighting two parts of me. I just have my priorities in line.”

“You want to talk about priorities?”

“I don’t want to talk at all,” she turned away yet again. “Goodbye, Celene.”

“Wait, please.”

“I’m tired of waiting,” she said, making haste toward the door. “You’re never going to change, it’s not the Valmont way. You’ve made as much clear.”

“There will be consequences. You know that.”

“I have no doubt.”

The door shut behind her, the sound echoing throughout the palace. Celene could’ve, should’ve gone after her. But Briala was right. A leopard never changes its spots, and Orlesians never change.


End file.
